


Crystalise

by acciss



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Second years, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 13:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10945896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acciss/pseuds/acciss
Summary: Even after everything that has happened between them, Tsumugi still thinks that Eichi needs a friend.





	1. Chapter 1

Eichi’s head is pounding. It’s a familiar sensation, always the first thing he feels when he starts to come to after passing out. He could open his eyes, but he decides to keep them shut while he tries to recall what has happened. It’s a...Monday, around noon. He was walking to his locker when...he felt faint, and assumably collapsed. Judging by the quiet, he’s in the school infirmary, rather than having been sent home. He opens his eyes then, squinting as they readjust to the light, and confirms his assumptions. He must be the only one in here, he thinks, as he inhales the familiar scent of disinfectants.  
_Oh,_ and he realizes one last thing. _It’s my birthday._

Eichi Tenshouin, the academy’s most famous and revered idol, student council president, passed out alone in the infirmary on his birthday. He hates this, hates being reminded that he’s really just a lonely, sickly mess. He wants to sit up, but still feels too weak. He only sighs, and hopes that no too many of his juniors saw him collapsed in the corridor. He then starts to wonder who even brought him here in the first place- he’s not exactly held in high regard by his peers at the moment, but surely one of them would have scraped him up from the floor out of fear of being reprimanded?

He spots something out of the corner of his eye, and his question is answered- though not before it gives him a terrible fright.

‘Ts-Tsumugi..?!’  
Without realizing it, he’s sat up, his hand clutched to his chest. Tsumugi had been sitting on the chair next to his bed the entire time.  
‘Aaah, sorry, Eichi-kun! I didn’t mean to frighten you!’  
Eichi has been completely caught off-guard.  
‘Um…’  
He hasn’t seen Tsumugi since the end of last semester, when he effectively disbanded fine, keeping himself as the sole remaining member. Tsumugi was upset, and despite himself, Eichi feels awkward about the whole ordeal. It doesn’t help that Tsumugi has caught him at his most pitiful. He thinks it’s better if he stays quiet.

‘H-how’re you feeling?’  
Tsumugi is, as Eichi had hoped, the one to break the silence. He sounds awkward, nervous, but there’s still that endearing friendliness in his tone. Eichi notices how dry his throat his when he goes to speak again.  
‘Ah...better.’  
His voice is unpleasantly grovely. What an ugly sound, he thinks.  
‘Oh, let me get you some water.’ He’s hurrying off before Eichi gets the chance to protest.

He returns with a glass and carefully hands it to him, as if he’s afraid Eichi will be too weak to hold it on his own. He wants to be indignant, but he doesn’t have the strength right now. In that respect, maybe Tsumugi isn’t too far off the mark. Eichi accepts the drink without saying anything.

Tsumugi catches his eyes when he sits back down. His hair is longer now, but it’s still that inky blue, with soft curls. Tsumugi smiles at him and self consciously tucks a strand behind his ear. Eichi wants to tell him that his glasses look ridiculous, but there’s something about them that suit him, despite their almost comic largeness.

‘Oh!’ Tsumugi exclaims, and he dives to root around in his school bag.  
He returns momentarily with a little gold gift bag, tied shut with a silver bow.  
‘Happy Birthday, Eichi-kun!’  
He reaches to hand it to him, but Eichi only stares at him. After a moment, he silently reaches to take it from Tsumugi, a confounded look on his face. He rests the bag in his lap, and stares at it blankly. He knows he must look like an idiot, but he thinks that saying something will only leave himself more open, make the image of himself that’s rapidly falling apart before Tsumugi’s eyes even dissolve faster.

‘Ah, you can open it if you like! I don’t think it’s rude to do that, or anything-I’d like you to see what’s inside!’  
Eichi lifts his gaze from the bag to Tsumugi. He hesitates, but eventually he lifts heavy arms to untie the bow and reach inside. Inside, he finds a an kitschy little photo frame, all baby pinks and blues, with cute bows on all four corners.

For the first time in a while, Eichi feels sad.

He feels sad because this is how he’s spending his seventeenth birthday, in the infirmary, awkwardly accepting the only well-wish he has received thus far from anyone who isn’t his parents, or someone employed by them. He feels sad because now that he and Keito aren’t speaking and he alone is the sole member of fine, he doesn’t even know what photo he would put in that frame.

‘Oh, Eichi-kun, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep it...I kept the receipt, so you can just ask for a refund.’

His emotions must’ve been showing on his face more than he had wanted it to, because Tsumugi is rustling through his bag again, trying to fish out a receipt. The thought of putting on niceties crosses his mind, of plastering on a smile and telling Tsumugi that it’s a very thoughtful gift, but he doesn’t have the energy. He’s come this far now, let his guard down enough just by being in this situation. He might as well just be honest.

‘Tsumugi…...why?’  
Tsumugi stops his searching and looks up.  
‘Hmmm? Well, because you’re my friend, so I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.’  
Eichi hears this, sees the genuine friendliness in Tsumugi’s eyes, and feels a little like someone has just slapped him across the face.  
‘How...how can you still consider me a friend?’  
‘Well, I’m the type who always wants to be friends with everyone. I hate conflict, you know. And, I really like you, Eichi-kun. That’s why I stuck by you for so long.’

Tsumugi looks at Eichi expectantly, waiting for some kind of a reaction, but Eichi just stares at him with that same blank confusion. Apparently fed up with waiting, he moves closer. He runs a hand over Eichi’s forehead, smoothing his bangs from of his face. Sitting there, his blazer off, tie loose, his school shirt crumpled, pale eyes devoid of any malice or mischief, Eichi thinks this must be the most vulnerable he’s looked- or felt- in a long time.  
‘I think you need a friend, Eichi-kun. Like Rei-kun said, you don’t really have many. It might make you feel happy, and I’d like to see you happy. I think you might start to look at things differently if you were a little happier.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This story is a little out of sync with the actual canon as far as when fine disbanded. As far as I'm aware, they disbanded at the end of second year, not during the first semester, but that didn't fit with the whole birthday thing, so I took some liberties.


	2. Chapter 2

 

Eichi is stood outside the library, absent-mindedly checking his phone and listening to music as he waits, one earbud in, one out. A few weeks have passed since Eichi’s birthday, and Tsumugi had been pestered him to meet up. Despite Eichi’s numerous attempts to wriggle his way out, Tsumugi has finally cornered him. Eichi isn’t easily permitted to leave his house outside of class and unit activities, so their only real plausible meeting place was the school- he told his parents that he was staying late to work on a group project.

 Eichi’s phone buzzes with a message-from Tsumugi.

 Tsumugi is not an elegant, or even a proficient texter. His messages tend to range from strange to read to downright illegible, and he always signs off with an old-fashioned smiley.

‘i will b there. 5 minutes :)’

Eichi sends a cute ‘OK’ sticker in response- a premium, animated one, of course, not one of the free ones that come packaged with the app.

‘Haha : P’

Eichi is not entirely sure what Tsumugi is laughing at, but he presumes it’s that he hasn’t seen a LINE sticker before, and he finds them amusing. Honestly, Tsumugi seems so _old_ at times- despite them being almost the same age.

A few moments later, Tsumugi comes shuffling down the hall, arms stacked with books. He doesn’t even notice Eichi at first, as he is preoccupied with fitting the books into his already overflowing locker. Eichi removes his earbuds and looks at him pointedly, hoping to catch his attention. When he does, Tsumugi practically jumps out of skin, dropping some of the books in the process. Eichi doesn’t help him pick them up.

‘E-Eichi-kun! Ah, sorry, I don’t know how I missed you!’

He messily shoves the books into his locker, and hurries towards Eichi.

 Eichi doesn’t know how to act around Tsumugi. Tsumugi has seen all of the worst parts of him, all of the ones that he tries to keep contained behind the flawless exterior that he has so painstakingly constructed. He knows there’s no point in putting on a front, then, when Tsumugi will see right through it. At the same time, he doesn’t feel like he can treat Tsumugi normally unless he were to apologize, which he has no absolutely plans to do. ( _why apologize for something that you don’t actually regret?_ ) Eichi can only bring himself to treat Tsumugi with a kind of relatively well-mannered coldness, and hope that he’ll get fed up of him soon.

‘I think I know a place where we can go, but I need to check something first, so just wait outside, okay?’

Tsumugi has lead Eichi down the corridor to the southernmost room. Eichi knows it to be the meeting place of the Handicrafts Club, of which Tsumugi is a member. He let Tsumugi plan the entire meeting, and as such didn’t offer him any of the numerous rooms that he has access to as a member of the Student Council that would surely be empty on a Friday evening. Tsumugi must know this, but he seems unfazed by Eichi’s deliberate aloofness nonetheless. Tsumugi hesitantly pries the door open before stepping inside, scanning the room thoroughly. Eichi presumes he’s making sure that Kagehira or Itsuki aren’t in there-bringing Eichi into a room with those two would surely be a nightmare. Eichi thinks then that, currently, there isn’t a club in Yumenosaki where he would be fully welcome; at least one member of each thoroughly despises him. He nearly smirks at the thought, but then a niggling voice in his head reminds him that Tsumugi is currently the only one in the entire school who will actually speak to him willingly, not because he was forced to out of fear. He puts that thought aside for the moment, but he also doesn’t indulge himself in any smugness.

‘Okay!’ Tsumugi turns to him and smiles, and Eichi follows him inside.

 ---

Being driven home in the dark a few hours later, Eichi processes his evening. He doesn’t really like to admit it, but spending time with Tsumugi like that had been nice. Tsumugi brought snacks, and Eichi gave him the keys to the tea club’s kitchen so that they had plenty to drink. Conversation was stifled at first, with Eichi making conscious efforts to stay aloof, hoping to let Tsumugi talk himself in circles. But Tsumugi was relentless, and soon Eichi found himself drawn into enthusiastic conversation about all manner of things-school work, books, some amount of gossip (mostly at Eichi’s request), and, of course, idols. Sitting in the plush leather seats of his driver’s car, gazing out of a blacked out window, he feels refreshed.

 

 His phone buzzes with a notification.

 

‘thanks eichifor, hanging out today. hope you enjoyed as much as i did :o)’

 

He can’t help but smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Tsumugi's texting isn't out of character or anything! Since he's always talking about not understanding 'young people' I thought there was a good chance he's a clumsy texter and not proficient in the use of emojis/LINE stickers, haha.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s early spring, and Tsumugi and Eichi have decided to spend their now weekly Friday meetup outside, on the lawns. He brought Eichi a nice, fluffy blanket- just to be safe. Eichi didn’t take particularly well to this, and is now using it to sit on rather than drape around his shoulders to keep him warm, like Tsumugi had intended him to use it.

 _‘mom is going to be really mad if he gets grass stains on that blanket’,_ Tsumugi thinks...but he doesn’t have the nerve to tell Eichi to get off. He can always wash it later, right?

Despite Eichi’s initial prickliness over what he perceived to be Tsumugi’s attempts to baby him, he seems to be in high spirits. He leans back to further bask in the sun, and lets out a melodic little hum of happiness as he does so. Tsumugi feels a pinching in his chest. Their meetings have become the absolute high point of Tsumugi’s week, and he often finds himself counting down the days to Friday.

Lately, Eichi has been so warm with him. He waves at him in the halls, they often eat lunch together, and he has been texting him unprompted with some frequency. Every time Tsumugi gets a ‘new message’ notification, he’s washed over with the sweetest mixture of anxiety and excitement (and occasionally, immense disappointment when the notification ends up being from Kaoru asking if can he copy his homework). This is exactly what Tsumugi wanted, to genuinely get to know Eichi, and talk to him without worrying about any ulterior motives. It’s still hard, sometimes- but Eichi has been so surprisingly candid with him, and anyway, Tsumugi can’t see what use he’d have for him anymore.

Tsumugi is watching Eichi now, who’s lying flat on his back, his face illuminated by the sun’s rays. He’s never seen anyone quite so beautiful. He doesn’t understand why Eichi even wanted Tsumugi in his fine in the first place, really. What good did an awkward oaf like him bring to Eichi? He curls his knees up to his chin and stares at his feet, feeling a little bit melancholy as thoughts of last semester start to whirl around in his mind. After a while, he feels Eichi’s gaze on him and turns his head to face him. One eye open and one eye closed, his head is strained upwards to get a better look at Tsumugi, and from what he can tell, he looks a little concerned.

 Well, that’s absolutely no good. He’s here to make Eichi feel happy, so he’d better snap out of it. Tsumugi unfurls himself and sits upright, looking down at Eichi and smiling.

‘You have such a cute nose, Eichi.’

‘Ah...do I?’

Eichi opens both eyes and hoists himself upright, so that they’re level with one another.

‘Mmmm! It’s all upturned, and it has a nice curve. It’s like a ski-slope. Unlike mine, all big and weirdly bent’

Eichi giggles.

‘Well, thank you, Tsumugi. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever been specifically complimented on my nose. Usually it’s my hair, or my eyes.’

He pauses.

‘Though, I think you’re a little hard on yourself. You have a nice face, Tsumugi, a strong one.’

He reaches to touches his cheek.

Oh, god, oh god. Tsumugi feels himself go red hot. He hopes Eichi can’t feel his cheeks burning.

‘And you’re lucky, because it will look even better with age. You’ll grow into it...mmm, you’ll make a fine man, fufu. Unlike me- my face is too angelic, too pretty. A single wrinkle, and the entire illusion will be shattered. I suppose it’s a good thing that I won’t live long enough to develop any.’

Eichi’s hand is still resting on his cheek, and he’s smiling. It’s his usual smile, lovely, with his eyes fully closed, but quite obviously plastered on. Tsumugi doesn’t like it, especially not when he’s smiling like that while talking about dying.

Their eyes meet, and he watches as Eichi’s fake smile fades into a real one. This, _this_ Eichi, is the one that makes his heart flutter the most. Tsumugi is practically frozen in place, but he makes an effort to smile too- it’s about all he can manage. 

Eventually, Eichi withdraws his hand. Sitting next to Tsumugi, he looks out across the lawns at nothing in particular. Tsumugi glances at him; his brow is slightly furrowed, his eyes are drawn, and he looks pensive. Neither of them talk for a while.

‘You know, Tsumugi, I really was in shock when I realized that you’d stayed with me through everything, just because you wanted to be my friend. To be honest, I still can’t quite wrap my head around it-it just doesn’t make sense. You have so many people who want to be around you, so why did you go out of your way to stick by someone who was blatantly mistreating you?’

Eichi doesn’t look at him as he speaks.

 ‘You shocked me too, Eichi-kun. To think that someone just wanting your friendship was so foreign to you...oh, you must have lead such a lonely life.’ 

Tsumugi is completely taken aback by how frankly he just spoke to Eichi. He is usually very good at sugar coating his words, at thinking and rethinking things that he’d like to say, trying to phrase them in the least offensive way possible. Often, his thoughts just get eaten up in this process, and he ends up saying nothing. But with Eichi, it seems like he doesn’t think at all- he just says what comes to him. But right now, Tsumugi is wishing he could pluck those words out of the air and put them back where they came from.

Eichi’s expression doesn’t change, but he stays silent for a long time. Eventually, he stands to leave, and Tsumugi starts to panic.

‘I should get going.’

 He scrambles to help him up, but Eichi is already ready to go by the time Tsumugi gets on his feet. Eichi walks a little ahead of him, and Tsumugi’s mind is racing _. Why did I say that? Why would I be so blunt? Oh, of course I’d blow it eventually. I should’ve known Eichi wouldn’t want to be with someone as useless as me._  Eichi is about to get into his driver’s car. He tries to string together some something, anything to say to him, but his frantic thoughts make it hard.

 ‘Eichi-kun, I-I..’

At that, Eichi turns around. Tsumugi almost winces, expecting an infamous Tenshouin take down-vicious, demeaning, apparently enough to have abysmal effects on your mental health- but Eichi is smiling.

‘I’ll see you next Friday, right?’

It takes a few seconds for him to articulate a response.

‘S-sure! um, yeah, I’ll see you, next Friday!’

‘Okay then. Thanks Tsumugi, and take care.’

Eichi’s briefly clasps his arm, smiles, and then retreats into the car.

Tsumugi watches as it drives away, and feels a strange mixture of disorientation and euphoria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know Tsumugi doesn't actually have a big nose but i just /feel/ like he does and i don't know why


	4. Chapter 4

It’s 4pm, and Eichi is currently being dragged by the hand through a crowded downtown street. Tsumugi is saying something to him, but it’s drowned out by the sounds coming from the throngs of people around them. He doesn’t think Tsumugi means to rush him, but he takes awfully long strides, and Eichi is struggling to keep up with him. He wants to get caught up in the thrill of it all, to marvel at the lives of the common people and the buzz of the city- but honestly, it’s all a bit overwhelming, and his chest feels a little tight. Tsumugi is entirely unfazed; though, Eichi supposes that’s to be expected, since this is the way he comes home everyday.

Going to Tsumugi’s house had been Eichi’s idea. He would never have been granted permission to go if they knew where he really lived, so Eichi had Tsumugi pretend that he lives in a luxury apartment complex not too far from Yumenosaki. His driver dropped them off there, and they waited in the lobby until he was out of sight. Were Tsumugi alone, he undoubtedly would have been shooed away, but with Eichi in tow, they could stay as  long as they needed to- Eichi’s parents seemed to be friends with every second resident. They’d surely be asking him questions about his newfound friend, and wanting an introduction to his parents- but he’d figure that out later. For now, he’s trying to keep himself looking composed, because God knows he doesn’t particularly feel it.

They finally reach a quieter, residential area, and Tsumugi goes to enter the lobby of an aged looking, multistory apartment complex. Eichi hates to do it, but he stops and lets go of Tsumugi’s hand to lean against a wall before Tsumugi can make his way inside. He’s awfully short of breath, and the constricted feeling in his chest has only gotten worse. He’ll be fine, he’s sure, but he rather desperately needs a moment to catch his breath. Tsumugi turns in surprise to see why Eichi has stopped, and when he sees him half-bent over and panting for breath, his eyes immediately widen with concern. He opens his mouth to say something, and Eichi meets him with a terrifyingly icy glare. Tsumugi quickly gets the message; _don’t_.

‘Sorry.’ Tsumugi mumbles.

Eichi feels better now, and he stands upright from the wall. Tsumugi still looks sheepish, avoiding Eichi’s eyes by staring at the floor. Eichi lightly touches his forearm and smiles.

‘Shall we get going?’

At this, Tsumugi lights up again, takes Eichi’s hand, and leads him through the doors. The lobby is mostly empty, save for a couple of vending machines- a far cry from their decoy complex’s plush leather seats and tanks filled with exotic fish. He thinks that Tsumugi, with all of his modest and awkward charm, fits a place like this far better than any haven of luxury that Eichi is used to. That’s not a bad thing, though. Tsumugi is a lot more interesting than he believes himself to be.

Through another door, and they’re at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

‘Sorry about this...my house is on the fifth floor. We could take the elevator, but the few last times I used it, it stopped working. Actually, that’s why I was late for class on Tuesday last week- we got trapped in it for about four hours.’

Tsumugi is laughing, so Eichi laughs too- but to tell the truth, he’s slightly horrified.

As they start to climb the stairs, Eichi finally decided to broach a subject that’s been nagging at him ever since he came up with this idea. That subject is Tsumugi’s mother. He has mentioned her lots, and Eichi knows there’s a complex history there- something about a cult, and a handful of divorces, if he remembers correctly. That kind of thing isn’t unusual for a family like the Tenshouins, but it must have put considerable financial strain on a less well-off family like Tsumugi’s. The thing that Eichi’s mostly concerned about at the moment, though, is that there’s a strong probability that Tsumugi’s mother hates every bone in his body, and he’s about to turn up at her doorstep out of the blue.

‘Tsumugi?’

‘Hmm?’

‘You’re...close with your mother, aren’t you?’

‘Yes! I adore her, she’s my closest friend. I tell her everything!’

‘Everything...so, she knows about fine, and about me, then?’

‘Mmhmm.’

‘Ah. She must hate me.’

‘Of course she does, Eichi. But it’s alright.’

He’s still pulling Eichi along by the hand. Eichi stops before he can start to ascend the next flight of stairs, steadying himself on the hand railings as he does so.

‘N-no, Tsumugi, wait a second! If she hates me, then this probably isn’t the soundest idea.’

‘You’re right, it’s not. But _I_ trust you, and if you try, you can redeem yourself. She’s merciful, unlike you~’

He hates to admit it, but Eichi is completely out of his element. He really can’t recall the last time he dreaded a social interaction, but now that uncomfortable feeling is settling in his stomach. Tsumugi is leading him up the final set of stairs. The stairwell is dingy, far shabbier than anywhere he’d been before. His heart is racing, and he’s short of breath. Tsumugi is pulling him along quickly, but Eichi suspects that some of the breathlessness is stemming from something other than physical exertion. Being in such a foreign place, about to encounter such an awkward situation….and holding hands with Tsumugi, who lately has been making him feel all sorts of new and strange things.

Tsumugi unlocks the door, but not before leaning in to whisper in Eichi’s ear-

‘I’ll talk to her, so just wait here for a sec, okay?’

He nods, and Tsumugi goes inside. The five minutes that pass before he returns seem to last an eternity. He takes Eichi by the hand again- Tsumugi seems to have developed a habit of doing that lately- and leads him into the apartment. It’s tiny, completely cluttered, and none of the furniture matches at all. Eichi can’t possibly think of a place that suits Tsumugi more than this.

His observations are interrupted when a woman’s voice calls his name. Tsumugi whispers to him again.

‘Um...she wants to talk to you, so I’m gonna wait in my bedroom, okay? You can come in when you’re finished.’

Eichi doesn’t say anything. He assumes that he conveniently left that part out when he invited him inside, which seems uncharacteristically sly for the usually earnest Tsumugi. Eichi doesn’t get the chance to think about it too much, though, because now Tsumugi’s mother is ushering him into the kitchen.

Intimidating Eichi is no easy feat, so how terrified he feels right now is testament to Tsumugi’s mother’s quiet strength. She doesn’t _look_ scary; in fact, it’s the opposite. She has a round, pretty face, with her blue hair pulled back in a loose bun. She’s pleasantly curvy, and currently has a flour-covered apron on over her sweater and jeans. If Eichi had to describe one word to describe her, it would probably be _warm._ Strange, then, that he appears to be breaking out in a cold sweat.

‘Eichi.’ She smiles. She’s kneading dough, but she hasn’t broken eye contact with him.

He smiles back. Honestly, he’s stuck for words. He imagines this reluctance to speak to her only enforces the idea that he’s stuck up; but what is he supposed to do?

‘Tsumugi talks about you a lot, you know. He always has.’

‘Ah...is that so?’

Eichi can hardly believe it’s his own voice that he’s hearing. He sounds so sheepish- a term he thought he’d never use to describe himself. He realizes that he has been toying nervously with a strand of his hair. The Emperor, who has dazzled crowds of thousands, is brought to his knees by this sweet, homely woman in a cramped apartment.

‘You don’t have to be scared, you know. I’m not going to scold you. But I think you know what I’m going to tell you.’

Eichi is quiet for a moment while he gathers his thoughts.

‘Yeah…’

‘My son is very forgiving, and very eager to please. I know you’re well aware of this. What you did to him hurt him more than you probably realize. But if he still wants to be close to you after that, then he must see something special in you. I’m only asking that you won’t repeat the same mistakes.’

Eichi looks up from the ground and meets her gaze. He feels awfully small, but somehow he also feels himself relaxing. It would seem that both Tsumugi and his mother exude the same calming aura, and just being around them makes Eichi feel a little like time has slowed down. But what really makes Eichi feel like a weight has been lifted from him is that here, he's being given a real, tangible chance to redeem himself to Tsumugi. He realizes now that he _wants_ this, wants to be close to Tsumugi, without the constant, nagging guilt in the pit of his stomach. If he can gain his mother's trust, then he thinks that might be a good start to repairing he and Tsumugi's relationship.

‘I promise you that I won’t. You have my word...I only hope that that’s enough.’

She puts a hand on his shoulder and smiles.

‘Oh, honey, that’s more than enough. Now, you go find Tsumugi. I’ll let you two know when food’s ready.’

And with that, she returns to her baking. Eichi nods, smiles, and descends down the hall.

Tsumugi is laying on his stomach on his bed when Eichi enters. His room is cluttered too, with trinkets scattered seemingly at random on every surface. Eichi’s eye is immediately drawn to the large poster on the wall; it’s of μ's, taken from their final Live. Eichi had the very same one in his room not too long ago; he took it down when he realized that he was now a _real_ idol, and real idols don’t keep posters of other groups plastered on their bedroom walls. Tsumugi sits up to make room for him, and grins sheepishly when he realizes what Eichi has been looking at.

They sit like that for a long time, talking, like they always do. They’re sitting nearer to one another than usual, though; shoulder to shoulder, legs touching. Eichi just wants to press closer. Eventually, a lull in the conversation arises, and Eichi shuffles a little nearer to him. He meets Tsumugi’s gaze, and doesn’t break it.

He’s known for a while that Tsumugi is interested in him. Eichi is always sharp to the signs of infatuation, and it hasn’t slipped by him that Tsumugi heats up when he touches him, that he blushes at Eichi’s innuendos, and that his eyes simply light up whenever Eichi is nearby. Eichi, though, doesn’t fully trust himself with Tsumugi. Even now, it’s difficult not to toy with him, and he thinks that if they go any further than this Tsumugi will practically be clay in his hands- just like he was before. But Tsumugi makes him feel so at ease, so warm, and right now, he just wants to kiss him.

So he does. He leans in further, tucks Tsumugi’s hair behind his ear, and then cups his cheek. Tsumugi doesn’t say anything, just closes his eyes; but Eichi feels him warm up, feels him instinctively lean in closer to him. Tsumugi is sitting stiffly, and his eyes are squeezed shut; Eichi can tell Tsumugi is nervous, so he takes his time. The kiss is chaste, with Eichi just waiting for Tsumugi to adjust-this is more than likely his first kiss, after all. Eventually, Tsumugi loosens up, and Eichi runs his tongue over Tsumugi’s bottom lip, prompting him to open up so he can deepen their kiss. He does, but not without letting out a timid whimper of pleasure. It’s a tempting sound, and Eichi finds himself thinking of all the ways that he could draw more of those out of Tsumugi, wondering how much farther he could push him...but he stops himself. He stops himself because, when he pulls away, he wants to see Tsumugi happy, not ashamed and startled. Instead, Eichi just revels in the present, enjoying the warmth that's spreading over him, the way his heart is practically fluttering in his chest, how natural this all feels. 

The kiss reaches its eventual end, and Eichi is pleased to see Tsumugi smiling. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that he’s beaming, even if he is blushing so deeply that he’s gone a little red in the face.

‘Aaaah….’

Tsumugi seems to be struggling to find the words to describe how he feels, so Eichi prompts him.

‘Well? How was that?’

He giggles, sounding a little breathless.

‘Eichi-kun…’

Eichi laughs too, and promptly pulls Tsumugi into a warm hug. With his head resting on Tsumugi’s chest, soothed by his steady breathing, Eichi thinks that he could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got randomly self-indulgent, haha. I was thinking about the enstars boys being inspired by μ's, so I wanted to incorporate that just a little bit. In my experience, Love Live is a common touchstone amongst Enstars fans, but I know that isn't the case for everyone, so I hope it didn't throw anyone off.  
> Also Tsumugi's mom because he mentioned her in Magicians Assemble and the thought of him being really close to her is cuuuteee. Plus Eichi deserves to be scolded by an adult, lol. 
> 
> This was mostly written as just something nice and cute to relieve stress, but along the way I realized the great potential for angst that these two have so I'll probably work them into something else soon.
> 
> Just updating this to say that I made a twitter for fanfic/fandom discussion! https://twitter.com/acciss_


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